Picking Up The Pieces
by EmmaWeasley
Summary: Does love truly conquer all? Faced simultaneously with the past and the future, Harry can't discern where his greater demons lie...
1. Homecoming

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own convoluted storylines . alas; the true genius belongs to a goddess among men.  
  
A/N This story has had more facelifts than anything I've ever written, but let me know what you think of this first bit..  
  
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Harry kicked the gravel as he walked, staring at the holes in his boots. He knew that he must look awful, but there was just nowhere else to go. A quick glance in a car window told him that he looked almost as bad as Sirius did when he escaped from Azkaban, and he winced - thinking about Sirius was still much too painful. Hunching his shoulders against the wind he continued the long trek to the house on the hill. As he stumbled along, he wondered how things would be when he got there. He knew it couldn't possibly still be the haven full of laughter that he remembered and he questioned whether he wanted to taint that memory with the reality that he knew was impending. He thought of the darkness that had touched that house - the house once full of good smells and smiling faces, full of love and acceptance, and he felt a pang of raw emotion in his chest. He wiped away tears with a filthy hand and narrowed his eyes as he approached. Reaching the walkway, he looked at the yard. Where there were once flowers and chickens, there was now only brown crackling grass and scattered leaves, which swept across the lawn with the wind. The steps leading up to the house sagged with the weight of the years and the mat lay faded and abandoned at an odd angle beneath the doorframe. Harry rapped on the door with cracked and bleeding knuckles, made so by months of harsh cold and brutal combat, and bit his lip to keep his teeth from chattering. Slowly the door creaked open and a pair of eyes was visible from the dark interior.  
  
"Can I help you, sir?" asked a voice tinged with fear. "They must not get many visitors now," Harry thought to himself.  
  
"It's me, Molly. I'm home," he whispered gruffly. He saw her eyes flash with recognition and heard her gasp, and then put her hands to her mouth.  
  
"Harry. Oh, Harry, dear!" she sobbed into her apron as she swept him into the house and, briefly, her arms. "Are you alright? Please come in - can I fix you something to eat? How is -" her face fell as she looked fervently at the empty road behind him.  
  
Harry sighed, "He hasn't made it home, then." Molly's chin fell to her chest as she shook her head solemnly. "Well, I'm in one piece, Molly. Barely, but I think I'll manage." He gave her a thin smile, trying to change the subject abruptly. He gratefully took from her the tea he was offered and began to eat ravenously anything she could put before him. "I came here because I didn't know where else to go, Molly. I was hoping he'd be here - I-I hope you don't mind, and I don't plan to impose long - just until I can get my footing and find a place of my own." he trailed off as she gaped at him in surprise.  
  
"Harry Potter! I will not have you going anywhere! You'll stay right here where I can keep an eye on you! Look at you! You mustn't have eaten in months!" Harry glanced down at his thin frame and shrugged. He continued eating as he studied her weary features: the many hardships that had befallen her certainly took their toll. Her frame, once round and robust (and admittedly a little intimidating) was now frail and thin, and her face lolled with the weight of her worries. A faint knock on the door startled him out of his daze.  
  
"Hello? Mum? Where are you?" A familiar scent wafted to the dining room, and Harry instantly regretted not going and fixing himself up before sitting down to eat. Ginny's head appeared around the corner, and her smile faded as her eyes lit upon his face. "Who's this, Mum?" she asked sharply. Molly smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. She gently put her hand on his forehead and brushed up his hair so that his faint scar was visible. Ginny's eyes widened and she too let her hands fly to her mouth.  
  
"Harry?" she asked gingerly. Harry nodded and Ginny looked sharply away. "Where is my brother, Harry? Why isn't he with you?" Her eyes flashed with the temper of which only Ginny was capable. "He was supposed to be with you!" She was shouting now, and Harry winced as she grabbed his arm roughly. "Tell me that he's alright, Harry - you promised you'd keep him safe!" Harry's face fell and his shoulders slumped.  
  
"I - I don't know where he is, Ginny." He sighed and then feebly got up out of his chair. "I'll be going now." Molly looked as though she'd like to stop him, but she read the determination on her daughter's face. He paused only for a minute, to look up at them and say, "It was good to be home," before reaching for his tattered cloak and aparating out of sight.  
  
As Ginny gaped at the empty spot where Harry had stood only moments before, a wave of raw emotion crashed over her, and she sank to her knees on the dining room floor and wept. 


	2. Having Faith

A/N: I kept it vague on purpose - deal with it! :-P Also, sorry 'bout the cheesy flashback format, but I can't get this to italicize, so it'll have to do for now!  
  
Ooh ooh! And thanks to my reviewers (positive feedback is always fun!).  
  
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As she did every day, Molly sat by the window in her rocking chair knitting sweaters. Watching the leaves dance on the lawn, her heart ached when she counted the sweaters she had made so far. "One for Charlie, one for Bill, one for Percy, one for George . " She faltered, fighting back tears, "one for Ginny, one for." she hesitantly glanced at the maroon sweater she was holding on her hands. Shaking, she continued, "one for Ron." A tear trickled down her cheek as she thought of the ones she would not be knitting that Christmas season. "I should make them for the girls," she thought aloud. "It'll keep me busy.one for Annie, one for Celeste, one for Alicia, and one for," he breath caught in her throat as she heard a pop. Glancing up, she finished, "HERMIONE!" Molly's eyes met with a pair of warm brown ones full of tears as she jumped up to embrace her son's fiancé. Pulling her close, she whispered, "are you two alright, dear?"  
  
Hermione nodded, but as comprehension dawned on her, she pulled away and looked around rather suddenly. "You mean he's not here either?" she choked. Sinking to the floor, she sobbed uncontrollably. Molly gently encircled her with her arms and slowly rocked her exhausted body until she was too tired to cry any more. "No one's seen him for weeks, Molly. Weeks. He has to be dead . I cannot believe that he is alive anymore, Molly. Not after all this time." she faltered as she choked back more sobs. Approaching footsteps made them both turn to face a pair of beat-up sneakers and jeans on long legs coming towards them.  
  
"Hermione, if you lose faith, who's left to keep it, luv?" Ginny said resolutely. "I will not have any future sister-in-law of mine talking about my brother that way. He's out there - Harry will find him." Her eyes glazed as she spoke of Harry. "I won't let him come home until he does."  
  
Molly gaped at her angrily, and then rose to her feet. "Virginia Weasley! How dare you blame this on Harry! It's bad enough you sent him away last week, but now you're making promises you have no right to make!" Her hand flew to her mouth as she tried to hold in the impulsive words that she had set loose into the room. "Oh, Ginny . oh I'm so sorry." Ginny turned quickly on her heel and bounded up the stairs, avoiding the eyes of both her Mother and her best friend.  
  
Once in the safety of her room, Ginny's tears burst through the dam and flooded her face and pillow. Her heart ached, and she longed for Harry to come back. "Why did I send him away? Why lost TWO when I could've at least had him?" she moaned weakly. Punching her pillow, she scowled at the picture frame on her night table. In it was a muggle picture of Harry and Ginny's first kiss snapped by Colin Creevy at her Hogwarts graduation almost 4 years ago. She felt tears trickle down her cheeks as she remembered the last time that he had kissed her.  
  
**Flashback**  
  
"Harry. I'm coming with you," Ginny said defiantly as she jammed her hands on her hips.  
  
"I said no, Gin, and I mean no. I love you - more than anything in the whole world - but I'm not changing my mind about this. Please, don't make me sneak away, Gin. Let's just have some time - just us - before I go." He searched her face for acceptance, but saw none. Pulling her close, he repeated, "I love you more than life itself Ginny Weasley - please believe that." He kissed her briefly, then backed away from her and turned to leave.  
  
"If you leave, Harry James Potter, know that I will not be waiting for you when you come back." Ginny shouted angrily. "And, promise me that you'll bring my brother back home safely." She folded her arms to emphasize the finality of her statement and fought the tears that threatened to leak from the corners of her eyes.  
  
Harry simply nodded and mumbled, "I promise, Gin. I love you," before he turned and aparated away.  
  
*****  
  
Ginny hated herself for being so cold. The pain that radiated from her heart was almost visible in her fatigued demeanor, but she could not allow him to see it - ever - because she knew her strength, though outwardly intimidating, was truly waning and every second spent with him would surely weaken her resolve against him. She knew very well that Ron's disappearance had not been Harry's fault, for she saw the true brotherly love that Harry felt for him in everything that he did or said about him, but it made it easier for her to push him away if she had a tangible reason to do so.  
  
Her contemplation was interrupted, however, when her door creaked open and a pair of red-rimmed eyes peeked in. "Come in, 'Mione," Ginny whispered hoarsely. Hermione approached her bed and settled herself beside Ginny's crouched form.  
  
"You okay, Gin? Molly didn't really mean to yell at you it's just she's - she's hurting." Hermione's voice faded as her eyes dropped and she began picking at the bedspread with her weathered hands. Ginny placed the tips of her fingers underneath Hermione's chin and lifted her face so that it was level with her own.  
  
"I know, Hermione. She's my mother. It's her job to yell at me, and she's beside herself with so many emotions that she doesn't know what to do with herself. Just as you and I are. But, I am completely sure that Harry will find him. I wasn't lying - or being unrealistic," she said with an eye roll. " I just know, okay? He's my brother - and Harry's . well, Harry's . Harry." Hermione nodded, half-smiling. "Let's go get you something to eat, okay? You can tell me all about how things have been, and we'll wait for them together, okay?" Hermione threw her arms around Ginny and held onto her tightly for what seemed like a long time.  
  
Then, pulling away, she sighed and replied simply, "Thanks, Gin. It's good to be home." 


	3. Keeping Promises

A/N: Sorry . I like a little fluff with my meat and potatoes :)!  
  
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Three weeks later, long after the remaining members of the Weasley family had straggled home, bringing joy back into the empty household, Harry dared to return. He aparated into the dining room on a particularly blustery day, snow clinging to his cloak and his hair damp with the weather. "Hermione!" he called urgently. Family members came running from all different directions as he laid Ron's lifeless body on the floor at his feet. "Someone take him to St. Mungo's!" he dictated, and people flew in all different directions. Ginny hung back, holding her breath, as she watched Harry continue to breath life into her brother.  
  
Hermione skidded to the floor and clutched Ron's hand so tightly that it went whiter. Soon mediwizards in white robes aparated into the room with a stretcher, and began giving directions to various family members. Hermione was nodding as if taking instruction, and glancing down to Ron with fearful gazes her eyes widened as she saw him stir. Soon, the flurry of activity subsided as people began to aparate to the hospital or run various errands they'd been sent on, and Ginny's eyes fell on Harry at last. His brow was furrowed - most likely with fatigue - and his shoulders slumped with exhaustion. She saw him struggle against his drooping head, and then suddenly she felt herself rising to her feet.  
  
Approaching him gently, she placed her hands on his shoulders, "Harry? Why don't you come with me?" she asked quietly. He stared up at her with longing in his eyes and she watched him bring himself to his feet.  
  
"Thanks, Gin . he'll - erm - he'll be alright," he whispered sheepishly as he ran his fingers through his long ragged hair.  
  
Blushing, Ginny nodded, "I knew you would bring him home, Harry. Ask Hermione - I had no doubts." She turned and started up the stairs, stopping to look over her shoulder at him. Harry followed her closely, and when they reached Ron's room, Ginny conjured fresh pajamas and placed them gingerly in his hands.  
  
"I don't understand, Gin. Shouldn't you be taking care of your brother?" Harry had a puzzled look on his face as she began to take his cloak from him.  
  
Shaking her head, Ginny added softly, "Everyone here is fussing over my brother, Harry. Let me take care of you - please?" She looked up at him and he saw a hint of something different in her eyes. "You brought him back, Harry - you kept your promise - that - that means a lot to me." She put her arms around his waist and awkwardly squeezed him for a moment.  
  
Harry, however, dropping the pajamas, wrapped his arms around her and held her so tightly she thought that she might lose her breath. She felt his chest begin to heave and heard his racking sobs as she buried herself still closer to his chest. "I'm so sorry, Gin . I'm so, so sorry," Harry choked out over and over. Ginny continued to hold on tightly and began to remember the comfort she had once felt in his arms.  
  
"I'm just glad you've come back, Harry. You are in one piece - that's more than I would've ever hoped." her voice trailed off as her memory threatened to regress again.  
  
Harry tilted her chin upward and searched her face. Cautiously, he murmured in her ear, "I'm here, Gin, and I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay with you until the end of time - I never want to be away from you again." Tears trickled down from the corners of his eyes, and it occurred to Ginny that in all the years she had known him he'd never been this open about his feelings to her.  
  
As he clutched her to his chest, stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head, Ginny thought to herself, "this is a good start." Smiling, she looked up at him, "a very good start." 


End file.
